In general, a silver halide color photographic material (hereinafter referred to as a "color photographic material") is, after imagewise exposed, processed by the processing steps such as color development, desilvering, rinsing and stabilization. In the color development step, a color developer is used; in the desilvering step, a bleaching solution, a bleach-fixing solution and/or a fixing solution are used; in the rinsing step, city water or ion-exchanged water is used; and, in the stabilization step, a stabilizing solution is used. The temperature of the processing solutions is generally adjusted to approximately from 30.degree. to 40.degree. C. A color photographic material to be processed is brought into contact with the processing solutions; generally, it is dipped in the processing solutions.
The basic processing steps are the color development step and the desilvering step.
In the color development step, the exposed silver halide in the photographic material to be processed is reduced by the color developing agent in the color developer to give silver, whereupon the oxidized color developing agent reacts with color formers (couplers) to give a color image.
In the desilvering step, which follows the color development step, the silver formed in the previous color development step is oxidized by the action of the bleaching agent which is an oxidizing agent, in the bleaching solution; and thereafter, the oxidized silver is dissolved by the fixing agent which is a silver complex-forming agent. After completion of these steps, only the color image formed remains on the processed photographic material.
In the desilvering step, may be effected by a method where the bleaching step and the fixing step may be carried out in the same bath; or, the bleaching step and the bleach-fixing step may be carried out in different baths. In either case, each bath may be composed of plural tanks.
In addition to the above mentioned basic steps, the processing method may include various other auxiliary steps to maintain the photographic and physical qualities of the color images formed and to improve the storage stability of the images. Such auxiliary steps may include, for example, the use of a hardening bath, a stopping bath, a stabilizing bath and a rinsing bath.
In general, the processing described above is carried out with an automatic developing machine. Recently, a small shop processing service system, called a "minilaboratory", has become popular; and, accordingly, rapid processing of photographic materials has become important.
For conducting rapid processing, first the development step is accelerated. Various means for accelerating the development step are known, including: a method of high temperature treatment as described in JP-A-1-140149 (the term "JP-A" as used herein refers to a "published unexamined Japanese patent application"); a method of jetting a stream of a processing solution to the photographic material being processed; a reinforced stirring method of rubbing the material being processed with a brush or roller; a method of increasing the amount of the developing agent in the processing solution; a method of elevating the pH value of the processing solution; a method of imparting a strong pH buffering ability to the processing solution; and a method of incorporating various development accelerators into the processing solution. For example, the method of increasing the concentration of the developing agent in the processing solution is described in JP-A-62-170955 and JP-A-63-149647. Examples of usable development accelerators include thioether compounds described in JP-B-45-9019 (the term "JP-B" as used herein refers to an "examined Japanese patent publication"), U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,247, and West German Patent 2,360,878; p-phenylenediamine compounds described in JP-A-52-49829 and JP-A-50-15554; quaternary ammoniilm salts described in JP-A-56-156826 and JP-A-52-43429; amine compounds described in JP-B-41-11431, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,482,546 and 3,582,346; polyalkylene oxides described JP-B-41-11431 and JP-B-42-23883, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,532,501; and silane compounds described in European Patent 229,720.
To conduct rapid processing, next, the desilvering step is accelerated. To accelerate this step, known methods may include accelerating the bleaching step or acclerating the fixing step. Alternatively, the number of desilvering steps may be reduced by employing a bleach-fixing step, in which bleaching and fixation are carried out simultaneously. Using such a bleach-fixing step shortens the desilvering time.
The desilvering step may be accelerated by elevating the processing temperature, selecting the optimum pH value, or reinforced stirring.
For accelerating the bleaching step, a high potential oxidizing agent, such as red prussiate of potash, bichromates, ferric chloride, persulfates and bromates, may be used. Examples of bleaching accelerators include mercapto compounds and disulfide compounds described in British Patent 1,138,842 and JP-A-53-95630; and thiazolidine derivatives described in JP-A-50-140129.
In addition to the above mentioned steps, other rinsing and stabilization steps may also be accelerated by elevating the processing temperature or by enhancing stirring.
Color photographic materials are classified into two groups: one contains couplers (coupler-in-emulsion type photographic material), while the other receives couplers from processing solutions (coupler-in-developer type photographic material). Generally, the former coupler-in-emulsion type photographic material is most popular.
Almost all color negative films are of the coupler-in-emulsion type, and generally contain yellow dye-forming, magenta dye-forming and cyan dye-forming color couplers. To correct the unnecessary absorption of the dyes formed from such dye-forming couplers and to improve their color-reproducibility, colored couplers may be used. Colored couplers are described, for example, in Research Disclosure, No. 17643, U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,670, 4,004,929 and 4,138,258, British Patent 1,146,368 and JP-B-57-39413. Such colored couplers are used to mask the yellow second absorption of magenta dyes and the magenta second absorption of cyan dyes.
As described in JP-A-61-221748 and West German Patent (OLS) 3,815,469, yellow colored cyan couplers which mask the yellow second absorption of cyan dyes may also be used to obtain color photographs having improved color reproducibility.
However, it has been found that when a yellow colored cyan coupler-containing photographic material is processed by the rapid processing techniques described above, the cyan-colored area has an unnecessary yellow absorption which noticeably lowers the essential masking effect.
In such cases, therefore, it is extremely difficult to obtain both the excellent color reproducibility and rapid processability.